Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Postgrad Med. 2010 Jul;122(4):105-11. doi: 10.3810/pgm.2010.07.2178.
Cognitive assessment is an important skill for health care providers, particularly when considering the increasing prevalence of dementia. Studies have shown that the current diagnostic criteria for dementia are inadequate, and dementia is missed in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Screening tests, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination, detect the presence of cognitive impairment but will not provide a diagnosis of dementia. The gold standard for diagnosing dementia is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria. Different causes of dementia are assessed by conducting a detailed history and physical examination of the patient. Differentiating mild cognitive impairment from dementia is very important in terms of medical management, particularly in relation to treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors.
认知评估是医疗保健提供者的一项重要技能，尤其是在考虑到痴呆症患病率不断增加的情况下。研究表明，目前的痴呆症诊断标准不够充分，无论是在门诊还是住院环境中，痴呆症都被漏诊了。筛查测试，如 Mini-Mental State Examination，可以检测到认知障碍的存在，但不能提供痴呆症的诊断。诊断痴呆症的金标准是《精神障碍诊断与统计手册》第四版标准。通过对患者进行详细的病史和体格检查，可以评估不同原因引起的痴呆症。区分轻度认知障碍和痴呆症在医疗管理方面非常重要，特别是在使用胆碱酯酶抑制剂治疗方面。
